Field
This disclosure generally relates to input/output (I/O) systems and devices for use with superconducting devices, and particularly relates to electrical filters and I/O systems for use with superconducting-based computing systems.
Superconducting Qubits
There are many different hardware and software approaches under consideration for use in quantum computers. One hardware approach employs integrated circuits formed of superconducting material, such as aluminum and/or niobium, to define superconducting qubits. Superconducting qubits can be separated into several categories depending on the physical property used to encode information. For example, they may be separated into charge, flux and phase devices. Charge devices store and manipulate information in the charge states of the device; flux devices store and manipulate information in a variable related to the magnetic flux through some part of the device; and phase devices store and manipulate information in a variable related to the difference in superconducting phase between two regions of the phase device.
Quantum Processor
A computer processor may take the form of a quantum processor such as a superconducting quantum processor. A superconducting quantum processor may include a number of qubits and associated local bias devices, for instance two or more superconducting qubits. Further detail and embodiments of exemplary quantum processors that may be used in conjunction with the present systems, methods, and apparatus are described in US Patent Publication No. 2006-0225165, US Patent Publication 2008-0176750, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/266,378, and PCT Patent Application Serial No. PCT/US09/37984.
When operating highly sensitive electronics such as superconducting qubits, coupling devices and/or readout devices, it is highly desirable to eliminate or at least reduce any noise which would otherwise adversely affect the operation of such electronics. For example, it is highly desirable to eliminate or reduce noise when operating a quantum processor that includes a number of qubits and coupling devices.
When operating superconducting components in refrigerated environments, it is highly desirable to maintain all various components at suitably low temperatures such that those components operate as superconductors or have superconducting characteristics. For example, it is highly desirable to maintain the qubits and coupling devices of a quantum processor at superconducting temperatures. It may also be highly desirable to maintain the local bias devices and/or read out devices of a quantum processor at superconducting temperatures. Also for example, it is highly desirable to maintain signal paths in an I/O system for the superconducting quantum processor at or around superconducting temperatures. Further, it may be desirable to provide a structure that allows easy placement and removal of a superconducting processor from a refrigerated environment. Such may allow simplification of testing, analysis, and/or repair.
Maintaining superconducting temperatures may be difficult since many materials that are capable of superconducting do not provide good thermally conductive paths. Such may be particularly difficult with I/O systems since such I/O systems interface with non-refrigerated environments. Such difficulties are compounded where the structure is also to provide for the easy placement and removal of a superconducting processor. The various embodiments discussed herein address these problems.
Superconducting Processor
A device sample may take the form of a superconducting processor, where the superconducting processor may not be a quantum processor in the traditional sense. For instance, some embodiments of a superconducting processor may not focus on quantum effects such as quantum tunneling, superposition, and entanglement but may rather operate by emphasizing different principles, such as for example the principles that govern the operation of classical computer processors. However, there may still be certain advantages to the implementation of such superconducting processors. Due to their natural physical properties, superconducting processors in general may be capable of higher switching speeds and shorter computation times than non-superconducting processors, and therefore it may be more practical to solve certain problems on superconducting processors.
Refrigeration
According to the present state of the art, a superconducting material may generally only act as a superconductor if it is cooled below a critical temperature that is characteristic of the specific material in question. For this reason, those of skill in the art will appreciate that a computer system that implements superconducting processors may implicitly include a refrigeration system for cooling the superconducting materials in the system. Systems and methods for such refrigeration systems are well known in the art. A dilution refrigerator is an example of a refrigeration system that is commonly implemented for cooling a superconducting material to a temperature at which it may act as a superconductor. In common practice, the cooling process in a dilution refrigerator may use a mixture of at least two isotopes of helium (such as helium-3 and helium-4). Full details on the operation of typical dilution refrigerators may be found in F. Pobell, Matter and Methods at Low Temperatures, Springer-Verlag Second Edition, 1996, pp. 120-156. However, those of skill in the art will appreciate that the present systems, methods and apparatus are not limited to applications involving dilution refrigerators, but rather may be applied using any type of refrigeration system.
Electrical Signal Filtering
During transmission, an electrical signal typically comprises a plurality of components each transmitting at a different frequency. The “filtering” of an electrical signal typically involves the selective removal of certain frequencies from the electrical signal during transmission. Such filtering may be accomplished “passively” or “actively.” A passive electrical filter is one that operates without additional power input; that is, the filtering is accomplished by the natural characteristics of the materials or devices through which the electrical signal is transmitted. Many such passive filters are known in the art, including filters that implement lumped elements such as inductors and capacitors, collectively referred to as lumped element filters (LEFs).
Simple, passive lumped element filters include low-pass and high-pass filters. A low-pass filter is one that substantially filters out higher frequencies and substantially allows lower frequencies to pass through. Conversely, a high-pass filter is one that substantially filters out lower frequencies and substantially allows higher frequencies to pass through. The concepts of low-pass and high-pass filters may be combined to produce “band-pass” filters, which effectively transmit a given range of frequencies and filter out frequencies that fall outside (above or below) of that range. Similarly, “band-stop” filters may be implemented which effectively transmit most frequencies and filter out frequencies that fall inside a given range.
Single-Ended Signaling Vs. Differential Signaling
Single-ended signaling is a term used to describe a simple wiring approach whereby a varying voltage that represents a signal is transmitted using a single wire. This single-ended signal is typically referenced to an absolute reference voltage provided by a positive or negative ground or another signal somewhere in the system. For a system that necessitates the transmission of multiple signals (each on a separate signal path), the main advantage of single-ended signaling is that the number of wires required to transmit multiple signals is simply equal to the number of signals plus one for a common ground. However, single-ended signaling can be highly susceptible to noise that is picked up (during transmission) by the signal wire and/or the ground path, as well as noise that results from fluctuations in the ground voltage level throughout the system. In single-ended signaling, the signal that is ultimately received and utilized by a receiving circuit is equal to the difference between the signal voltage and the ground or reference voltage at the receiving circuit. Thus, any fluctuations in the signal and/or reference voltage that occur between sending and receiving the signal can result in a discrepancy between the signal that enters the signal wire and the signal that is received by the receiving circuit.
Differential signaling is a term used to describe a wiring approach whereby a data signal is transmitted using two complementary electrical signals propagated through two separate wires. A first wire carries a varying voltage (and/or current) that represents the data signal and a second wire carries a complementary signal that may be equal and opposite to the data signal. The complementary signal in the second wire is typically used as the particular reference voltage for each differential signal, as opposed to an absolute reference voltage throughout the system. In single-ended signaling, a single ground is typically used as a common signal return path. In differential signaling, a single ground may also be provided as a common return path for both the first wire and the second wire, although because the two signals are substantially equal and opposite they may cancel each other out in the return path.
Differential signaling has the advantage that it is less susceptible to noise that is picked up during signal transmission and it does not rely on a constant absolute reference voltage. In differential signaling, the signal that is ultimately received and utilized by a receiving circuit is equal to the difference between the data signal voltage (and/or current) carried by the first wire and the complementary signal voltage (and/or current) carried by the second wire. There is no absolute ground reference voltage. Thus, if the first wire and the second wire are maintained in close proximity throughout the signal transmission, any noise coupled to the data signal is likely also to couple to the reference signal and therefore any such noise may be cancelled out in the receiving circuit. Furthermore, because the data signal and the complementary signal are, typically, roughly equal in magnitude but opposite in sign, the signal that is ultimately received and utilized by the receiving circuit may be approximately twice the magnitude of the data signal alone. These effects can help to allow differential signaling to realize a higher signal-to-noise ratio than single-ended signaling. The main disadvantage of differential signaling is that it uses approximately twice as many wires as single-ended signaling. However, in some applications this disadvantage is more than compensated by the improved signal-to-noise ratio of differential signaling.